By Haili Z
March 14, 2013 at midnightUpdated March 13, 2013 at 10:14 p.m.

Malaysian designer Zang Toi introduces his fall 2013 collection to New York Fashion Week inspired by Imperial Russia. The color palette for Zang Toi consisted of emerald green, brown, gold and deep purples that took an inspirational nod to Zang Toi's trip to Saint Petersburg Palace in Russia last November.

"This collection was inspired by my trip to Saint Petersburg Russia. I have always wanted to go there, for years. I finally made it there last November. It was so inspiring and so cultural and so beautiful, and this is my own take of Imperial Russia," he said of his backstage collection of the beautiful apparel.

"The color palette is composed of three shades - light brown, dark brown and black - which I call Amber, Mahogany and Gem. I open the beginning of the collection with neutrals," he said. "It is all very neutral at first when I open with the Amber Loro Piana Cashmere Faberge Coat and then transition into mahogany and black and then transition into evening."

"And Julie is my first ever muse," he says as he signals to the beautiful Julie Macklowe standing beside him during the interview. Macklowe wears the newest piece from the 2013 collection beautifully representing the Zang Toi line with her petite frame in a strapless black suede dress with gold appliqu that hits right above the knee. I obsess over Julie's dress as we all start to gush over how stunning she looks for the Zang Toi show.

I turn my attention back to Zang Toi because I must know - what is his favorite piece of the collection? I know that this will be a hard decision for Zang seeing that we are surrounded by racks and racks of his fall 2013 collection, and each piece is stunning in its own right.

"For the finale, you have to see the coat - the beading is so spectacular. The entire beading is similar to the beading that Julie is wearing. It's a technique that is so spectacular. It was inspired by the most beautiful, over-the-top ballroom in Saint Petersburg Palace. The last gown and coat during the finale was inspired by that.'

While seated at the runway, we took our places and grabbed our goody bags, which included a complimentary Zoya Nail Polish. Zoya is featuring a nail polish collection exclusively for Zang Toi called Imperial Russia consisting of a trio that comes in gold, emerald green and a deep purple - all inspired by and exclusively for Zang Toi's collection. The lights dimmed and Zang Toi presented his take on Imperial Russia. The runway was beautifully received as Zang Toi had a standing ovation from a full house at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

Haili Pue is the president of All Ze Details. Visit her web site at allzedetails.com